POLARI PRIZE UNVEILS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ 2020 LONGLISTS AS IT CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY YEA
The longlists for the Polari Prize and Polari First Book Prize for LGBTQ+ literature have tonight been unveiled in a digital ceremony hosted by author and founder Paul Burston. As the prize marks its 10th anniversary, he hailed the extraordinary range of talent showcased in this year’s selection of titles which include Jeanette Winterson’s retelling of Frankenstein, Kate Charlesworth graphic guide to queer history, Jay Bernard’s poetry anthology exploring black British history, and memoirs by Amrou Al-Kadhi and Dustin Lance Black.
Announced during Pride month, the ceremony included videos from supporters of the prize including Matt Bates, Editor at Muswell Press and former Fiction Buyer for WH Smiths and Booker prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo who described the Polari Prize as an “essential part of our literary culture.”
The Polari First Book Prize 2020 longlist are:
• Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen by Amrou Al-Kadhi (Fourth Estate)
• Tell Me I’m Forgiven: The Story of Forgotten Stars Gwen Farrar and Norah Blaney by Alison Child (Tollington)
• Queer Intentions: A Personal Journey through LGBTQ+ Culture by Amelia Abraham (Picador)
• Surge by Jay Bernard (Chatto & Windus)
• Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide- a graphic guide to lesbian and queer history 1950-2020 by Kate Charlesworth (Myriad Editions)
• Flèche by Mary Jean Chan (Faber)
• The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney by Okechukwu Nzelu (Dialogue Books)
• Diary of a Drag Queen by Crystal Rasmussen (Ebury Press)
• Salt Slow by Julia Armfield (Picador)
• The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins (Penguin)
• A Love Story for Bewildered Girls by Emma Morgan (Penguin)
• Death Magazine by Matthew Haigh (Salt)
The Polari Prize 2020 longlist are:
• Mama’s Boy: A Story from Our Americas by Dustin Lance Black (John Murray)
• In At The Deep End by Kate Davies (The Borough Press)
• Blue Wallpaper by Robert Hamberger (Waterloo Press)
• In Nearby Bushes by Kei Miller (Carcanet)
• Reckless Paper Birds by John McCullough (Penned In The Margins)
• Trans Power: Your Own Gender by Juno Roche (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
• Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson (Vintage)
• Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan (Harvill Secker)
• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (Hodder Children’s Books)
• The Other Mother: A Wickedly Honest Parenting Tale for Every Kind of Family by Jen Brister (Square Peg)
• This Brutal House by Niven Govinden (Dialogue Books)
• Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor (Harvill & Secker)
Announcing the names of the 24 writers in contention for this year’s awards, author, founder and Chair of Judges, Paul Burston said: “This year’s extraordinary longlists bring together an astonishingly rich selection of books that are wide-ranging in form and experience. After ten years of championing LGBTQ+ books, it’s heartening to see such a diversity of voices from a variety of cultural backgrounds, with many genders and genres represented. The judges were impressed with the quality and variety of this year’s entries and we all agree that this year’s longlists reflect the ethos of the awards and the overall standard of submissions.”
Judges for the First Book Prize are Angela Chadwick, who won in 2019 for her dystopian thriller XX, alongside Rachel Holmes, Cerys Evans, and Keith Jarrett.
Judges for the Polari Prize are inaugural prize winner Andrew McMillan, who won the 2019 award for his intimate poetry collection Playtime, alongside Suzi Feay, Chris Gribble, and VG Lee.
Both prize panels will be chaired by founder, journalist and author Paul Burston. Shortlists will be announced on July 31.
Notes to Editors
About the Polari First Book Prize
• The Polari First Book Prize award debut writers whose work explores the LGBTQ+ experience. It was launched in 2011 and previous winners include Angela Chadwick, Saleem Haddad, Paul McVeigh, Kirsty Logan, Diriye Osman, John McCullough, Mari Hannah and James Maker.
• The Polari First Book Prize is sponsored by leading literary PR consultancy, FMcM Associates. The winner will receive a cheque for £1,000.
About The Polari Prize
• The Polari Prize was established in 2019 and awards an overall Book of the Year. It is open to writers at any stage of their career (except debuts). It’s inaugural winner in 2019 was Andrew McMillan for his intimate poetry collection Playtime.
• The Polari Prize is sponsored by D H H Literary Agency. The winner will receive a cheque for £2,000.
For all media enquires please contact Ashton Bainbridge at FMcM Associates at ashtonb@fmcm.co.uk.
